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quality compared to the

in Here is your first Forum Thu Jan 22, 2015 8:54 am
by linyong04 • 6 Posts

<P>The History of the Ubiquitously Used</P>
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<P>When reading the title of this article, you probably wondered what I was alluding to. Anything with the title "Heavy Action" will get automatic snickers today. But let's go back to a time when double entendres hadn't permeated every single word yet. And let's pay attention to that music you remembered hearing (and still partly hear) playing in the background during "Monday Night Football" telecasts. It's always been one of those interesting themes that gets into your subconscious and sometimes forces you to be reminded where you've heard it. Today, you still run into people who hum it to themselves without thinking they're doing it. It just may be one of the greatest earworm instrumental themes ever written for television when TV themes usually have to be sung to get stuck into people's heads. started everything in television before being stolen and subsequently made a hit (sometimes in a mediocre way) here in the United States. It was written by a British composer by the name of Johnny Pearson who's written many TV themes for British TV shows. One familiar show he wrote the theme to was "All Creatures Great and Small" that was broadcast on PBS stations here in America during the 70's and 80's. But when sought out to write a theme that represented sport (no, I won't make it plural as we do here) for a new British sports show called "Superstars" he wrote a typically British type of fanfare music that we'd probably equate with John Williams' Olympics theme today. This was in 1970 before music themes for sports broadcasts were really considered necessary. Because "Superstars" would be a sports show dedicated to former sport superstars competing with one another in something resembling a decathlon Pearson wrote a very Olympic type of theme. The red bottom shoes descriptive title of "Heavy Action" was the name he gave for the theme. made "Superstars" a big sport show hit that season of 1970 71 on the BBC American TV was taking a gamble with a new weekly telecast of NFL games to be broadcast on ABC and anchored by the controversial Howard Cosell, laid back Don Meredith and (before Frank Gifford came in later), sports commentator, Keith Jackson. The story isn't really clear how ABC acquired the rights to the "Heavy Action" theme song but ABC started broadcasting an American version of "Superstars" in 1973 that ran in various versions for years there and on the other networks that helped influence those old sports oriented "Battle of the Network Stars" specials later. A deal must have been in the works prior to 1973, however, because ABC acquired the rights to the "Heavy Action" theme song and started using it on "Monday Night Football" starting in the 1971 season. let alone know the title. Nevertheless, the sound of American football being a majestic American pastime equal to baseball had been found.</P>
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<P>A show about famous world explorers had a popular run in Britain called (not surprisingly) "The Explorers" in 1975. Once again, America picked up on an idea from British TV they thought would translate into something successful here. In the American version (co produced with the BBC and Time Life Films), they renamed it "Ten Who Dared" and made it an anthology show featuring host, Anthony Quinn. Because ABC had the rights to the "Heavy Action" theme it's a bit of a mystery how an unrelated show could use the music. But this show managed to swipe it and use it as their theme song. The majestic qualities of the theme could really be used for anything that represented something adventurous or Olympian.</P>
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<P>By this time, the composer Johnny Pearson was the music director on louboutin shoes replica Britain's famous "Top of the Pops" and obviously getting untold residuals on both coasts for a theme that seemed to be THE perfect theme. It's interesting how it sounds so British in its bombastic way yet also American at the same time.</P>
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<P>Well, Pearson would still get yet another check in the mail for the use of the theme. This time it was in another part of television that didn't relate to sports or adventure in any way. This new TV creation for the theme was actually the first to use a concept we know well today on Turner Classic Movies and other (few) cable stations that show classic movies.</P>
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<P>The syndicated SFM Holiday Network gets some "Heavy Action".</P>
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<P>Anybody who grew up with TV in the late 70's and early 80's like I did will probably remember those old SFM Holiday Network syndicated packages shown around holiday times on your local stations. SFM Entertainment (previously SFM Media Corp.) is still known to this day as one of the greatest syndication companies ever. It was started by media guru Stanley Moger in the late 60's and the company syndicated a wide variety of different shows over the years, including the updated "Mickey Mouse Club" in the late 70's. (Not the 90's version with a young Britney Spears.) In the early 70's, SFM acquired the rights to a large lot of MGM films that they attempted to syndicate to local stations through a package called "The MGM Family Network." It was the first time a regular wheel of MGM films were being shown on local stations with transferrals to high quality Beta tape that was considered top of the line picture quality compared to the 16 mm prints hundreds of local stations had acquired of the same films.</P>
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<P>When this syndicated cheap red bottom shoes movie series flopped SFM kept the MGM library, picked up some more classic family movies for their library and syndicated it under a new title: "The SFM Holiday Network" starting in 1978. Fourth of July, Thanksgiving or Christmastime) with a classic family movie that more or less fit the holiday theme. During their opening sequences to introduce the movie what did you hear but the "Heavy Action" theme from "Monday Night Football." Any of you who grew up with the SFM Holiday Network broadcasts or seeing their previews probably remember hearing that theme and wondered where you'd heard it before. When "MNF" moved to ESPN last year after 36 years on ABC it appeared to end the use of one of the longest running theme songs christian louboutin replica ever. He also writes regularly on movies, entertainment, business and travel for Yahoo! Contributor Network. In 2012.</P>

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